Tilburg University implements OCLC WorldCat Local discovery service

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 29 August 2012—Tilburg University, in the Netherlands, has gone live with WorldCat Local, OCLC's cloud-based discovery and delivery service that allows users to search their library's collection along with the collections of thousands of other libraries worldwide. With the launch of WorldCat Local, Tilburg University has chosen to focus first on the most user-critical service while taking a significant step toward migration of its entire library management workflow to the cloud with the adoption of OCLC WorldShare Management Services.

Students and faculty can now quickly and easily find and get materials they need through WorldCat Local, the discovery tool that offers a single search box to find what they need in Tilburg University Library as well as in the collections of other libraries around the world. With the University’s collections already present in WorldCat, the configuration of its electronic collections in the WorldCat knowledge base further facilitates the discovery and delivery of electronic resources. This has provided the foundation for the next stage in its migration.

"In the past year, our project team and that of OCLC have worked closely together on this implementation—the cooperation went very well," said Marc van den Berg, director of Library and IT Services at Tilburg University. "We have intensified our communications, which are essential in projects like these and we look forward to further collaboration during the rest of the implementation process."

"We have been delighted to work with the project team at Tilburg University," said Eric van Lubeek, managing director at OCLC EMEA. "The challenges we faced were approached in a very positive manner, which made it possible for us to complete this implementation so successfully."

WorldCat Local can be a stand-alone service, or part of WorldShare Management Services, OCLC's new cloud-based library management services that provide tools to improve library workflows, reduce costs and offer new opportunities for collaboration. In the United States, there are currently 60 libraries already using the new WorldShare Management Services. In Australia, 12 libraries have started piloting the services.

OCLC has recently opened new data centers in London, Toronto and Sydney, in addition to the two that already exist in the United States, to serve libraries around the world interested in using the cloud-based services. Another data center in continental Europe is planned.

Tilburg University Library has posted several helpful Web pages, videos and other resources to introduce WorldCat Local to students and faculty.

About Tilburg University Library

The Tilburg University Library houses seven different collections under one roof, with a total of 800,000 printed volumes and access to over 20,000 electronic journals and 150 databases. Tilburg University, which dates back to 1927, has focused its research programmes on economics, business administration, law, social sciences, humanities and theology. The university has more than 13,000 students and over 1,000 academic staff. More information about the library can be found on its website.

About OCLC

Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

OCLC, WorldCat and WorldCat.org are trademarks and/or service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.